9 February 2024

Principal Report

Dear Families,

Welcome back to our wonderful Illawarra school community and a special welcome to new families joining us this year. We look forward to a year of learning, growth and connectedness and we hope our new families will feel a sense of belonging at our school.

A great way to be connected is to come to the Meet the Teacher BBQ on Wednesday 28^th of February, hosted by our School Association. This is a valuable opportunity to familiarise yourselves further with your child's learning environment and connect with their teacher and other families. Please see further information on this event in the newsletter.

I would like to welcome new staff to the school this year - 

• Bec Copeland – Teaching a Prep class Mon/Tues/Wed. Bec joined us half way through last year.

• Bec Andrews – Teaching the 4/5 class Mon/Tues/Wed sharing with Annie Oettle.
  

• Jocelyn Hansson – Teaching the Prep class on Thu/Fri sharing with Bec Copeland.
  

• Djirilina Booth – Djirilina will be providing various support to early childhood classes this term and working closely with 1 Whenman. 

• Tara Rawlins is teaching a grade 1 class this year after completing her year long internship at Illawarra last year.

Joining our professional support staff team are:

• Lilli Harrison - School Nurse
• Angela Spooner - Social Worker

We also welcome Emily Spencer, a very experienced EAL teacher (English As An Alternative Language), who will work with us one day a week on Wednesday.

At the end of last year Georgie McCrae, one of our Kinder teachers, was successful in winning a position as Education Officer with the Saltbush Kingston Child and Family Centre. This is a credit to Georgie's expertise and professionalism. Georgie has been a long standing staff member at Illawarra and instrumental in the success and reputation of our Kinder program. We wish her the very best in her new role.

Tracey Williams has moved from the Grade 1-2 team to take up the position of Kinder teacher alongside Kellie Pickett and we know they will make a great team together in the Kinder space. Tracey will also take one of the LiL groups working with Lilly Taylor.

Canteen - I would also like to thank Louise Chan for her dedication to running our Canteen one day a week for the past few years. Louise will not be continuing in this position and we are seeking expressions of interest from community members who might like to take on this paid role. Please see further on in the newsletter for more information.

Maintenance - Over the holidays a new path was constructed behind the sandpit leading to the Japanese and Art rooms allowing for safer access for students with mobility issues. Reverse cycle heat pumps have been installed in the Gd 5 and 6 classrooms and all smart boards have now been replaced with TVs throughout all classrooms.

Behaviour expectations - While being safe, fair and caring is still central to the language we use in conversations with all children regarding behaviour expectations, teachers will be framing class learning agreements with the new Department values of -

• Courage
• Growth
• Responsibility
• Respect and
• Connectedness.

These values will also be reinforced and recognised through our assembly merit certificates.

Teacher professional learning - In the past few weeks teachers have spent a great deal of time preparing their class learning environment. Renee Jordan, one of our Support Teachers, led staff in session this week to consider aspects of universal design when configuring the classroom set up to ensure classrooms are purposeful and pleasant places to be.

Earlier this week Illawarra staff spent the day with the staff of Snug Primary deepening their understanding of effective evidence-based teaching strategies led by Jodie Davey, an external consultant. This learning will provide a springboard for reviewing our school Instructional Model and will guide the work of our PLC (Professional Learning Community) teacher teams this term.

Communication with teachers - Lastly, we have made the decision to only use Seesaw to share student learning and class/school news with families. It will not be used for back-and-forth communication. This decision has been made to support teacher well-being by reducing the amount of time they are responding to messages outside of work hours. Families are able to communicate with teachers via email or through calling the school office. Teachers have been encouraged to only respond to emails in their work time.

Please remember supervision and duty of care for students is provided between the hours of 8.30 and 3.00.

We thank you for your support and cooperation in these matters.

Kind regards, Cathryn 

Calendar Of Events

Assembly Roster

Every School Day Matters

Let’s make every day count

By showing up to school every day, your child will have the best opportunity at a bright future. It gives them every chance to be around friends, learn new things, and find interests.

Good attendance habits can sometimes be hard to stick to. But creating a solid routine, from the start of Term 1, can set your child up for success for the year ahead.

If you’re looking for tips on how to create better attendance habits, visit the Anything can happen website Anything can happen - Department of Education, Tasmania.

Please always talk to us if you’re having trouble getting your child to school. We’re here to help.

Expression of interest

Expression of interest - Canteen Manager wanted.

The Illawarra School Association is seeking expressions of interest for a Canteen Manager position on a casual basis beginning as soon as possible this Term. This is a paid position requiring 6 hours a week.

The position involves coordinating canteen volunteers, budgeting, record keeping, purchasing, managing orders and counter sales on the day.

Initially there will be a simplified menu with scope to expand this if needed at a later date and will operate during one lunch time a week only.

The day the canteen operates is flexible depending on the successful applicant’s availability.

Please email Rachael Lewis (IPSA Canteen liaison) on rachaeljoylewis@gmail.com for further information or to express interest.

Treasurer position vacant – IPSA is seeking of expressions of interest for our Treasurer position – please contact Chloé Bibari on cdcadby@gmail.com for further information or to express interest.

IPSA meeting dates for Term 1 are Wednesday 21^st of February and Wednesday 3^rd of April 7 pm in the staffroom. All welcome!

Canteen 2024

Welcome BBQ

IPSA Meeting

Reminders

BUSES - All bus lists have been started new for 2024.

We have not carried over any bus arrangements from 2023.

Please advise the school office if your child is regularly catching a bus from school in the afternoon. Please note that we do not need morning bus travel details. If there is a change to the information provided (either a permanent change or just a one off) please contact the office either by phone on 6229 6295 or email at illawarra.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au to let us know.

Bus #1 (Early Bus) - To Kingborough Sports Centre

Bus #2 - Kingston 
Bus #3 - St Aloysius (Huntingfield)
Bus #4 (Late Bus) - Howden

For further information on bus routes, please contact Wisby's Buses on 6267 1789.

CONCERNS - If you have any concerns regarding your child please raise this with their class teacher in the first instance.

VALIDATION FORMS RETURN - Please return validation forms to class teachers by Thursday 15 February so we have up to date contact details in case we need to contact you. With the grade 3-6 swimming carnival not far away, it is also important we have permissions back so your child can participate.

MEDICAL PLANS - Any medical plans must be updated – it is very important if your child has a medical condition or allergy that the school has the most up to date information. All medicine must also be in date.

CLOTHING – Please make sure all clothing and property is clearly named to avoid lost property piling up and that your child has a sun safe red school hat.

Mandatory Reporting

Dear Parents & Carers,

This year, there is a requirement from Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) that any adults attending Illawarra Primary School in a voluntary role complete mandatory Safeguarding training. On completion of this training, you will receive a certificate from DECYP that must be either emailed through to the school or presented to front office staff at your earliest convenience. Please include the full names of the student/s you are associated with and the classroom they are currently enrolled in.

This training only needs to be completed once a year and a record of this will be kept at the front office. As a volunteer at the school, you will still be required to hold a current WWVP card and show this each time you check-in at the front office.

The following link will take you to the online environment to complete the training module. This should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete.

Sign up with your work email (mygo1.com)

Please email through your certificates of completion to

Illawarra.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au

NAPLAN 2024

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2024

Information for Grade 3 and 5 Parents and Guardians

This year, NAPLAN will be conducted from 13 March – 25 March. Grade 3 and 5 students will complete a Writing task, Reading task, Language Convention and Spelling task, and Numeracy task.

There will also be catch up sessions run for any student who misses a scheduled task. 

The Grade 3 Writing task is done using pencil and paper and will be undertaken in classrooms.  All other tasks will be completed online in the GP room so that we can best ensure devices are properly set up and working correctly.

NAPLAN provides valuable information on how your child is progressing against national minimum standards of literacy and numeracy skills expected for each year level.  Later in the year you will receive an individual report that shows your child’s results and a comparison of your child’s performance against all other Australian students in their year level. 

Our teachers use the NAPLAN results to inform class and school planning and to allocate resources and support, including informing decisions around targeted programs and initiatives for individuals and groups.

The best preparation for the tests is a high-quality learning program based on the Australian Curriculum, and this is what we focus on at Illawarra Primary School.  We also recognise that students need to develop familiarity with the testing format and conditions as these are quite different to the way in which our students commonly work. 

In line with this, we are helping our students to develop strategies, so they can perform to the best of their ability on the day.  These include: understanding how to approach the types of questions that may be asked; managing time effectively and checking answers; using effective problem-solving strategies, including working out paper; and leaving a question that is too hard and coming back to it later.

The best way you can assist your child is by helping them to feel comfortable about the nature and purpose of the tests and assure them that the tests will give them an opportunity to show what they have learned in class.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at michael.hayen@decyp.tas.gov.au or on 6229 6295.

Michael Hayen

Assistant Principal

Chess Club - Term 1

Launching into Learning

Fundraising Day - Worlds Greatest Shave

Bus Fare Increase

Community Notices